Survival Skills for the Youth Service Worker, by Steve Zvonar

On December 3rd, 2010 YIPA has the honor of hosting Chiropractor and Wellcoach, Dr. Steve Zvonar, as he discusses early signs of stress within yourself, the staff you work with, the volunteers you coordinate and youth clients you serve. If you're interested in taking part in this seminar, look to our website for additional information. Below you'll find a guest blog by Dr. Zvonar!

After 25 years of practice in a natural health care field that involves lifestyle change, discipline and perseverance, the question that continues to throw itself at me is, “What does it take to get a person to make tough changes in their life?”

After all, we do live in a country of immediate gratifications, short cuts and “if it’s too hard to do, forget it”. I think that is one of the reasons we have a drug crisis in our country. It’s flat out easier to take a drug than to exercise, eat right, or to take time to recover with a walk in the woods.

So, why do some people change and others don’t? What fuels people to rise up and discipline themselves to change their diets, quit drugs or alcohol or proactively deal with the chronic stress in their lives? Ask a person who has done it, they will tell you that they found a reason and purpose beyond themselves that inspired them to persevere. Just think of the woman who can’t seem to quit smoking, then “magically” quits after she becomes pregnant. Yes, she has some purpose or now someone who is bigger than her own self interest that becomes the fuel for positive but difficult change.

During our seminar, Survival Skills for the Youth Service Worker”, we will be talking about the popular topic of recognizing and dealing with stress. What will be unique about this seminar is that we will be teaching how to deal with stress in our own lives as well as others around us from a coaching perspective. We will particularly be focusing on the foundations for healthy change, specifically as it pertains to our stressful lives. C.S. Lewis calls these three foundations “The Laws of Human Nature”. They are: healthy relationships, balancing ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and finding purpose and passion in life. The techniques we will discuss will be wonderful tools in dealing with the stress of coworkers, youth and of course, most importantly, ourselves.

Yes, after over 25 years of practice, hundreds and hundreds of training and seminars, when people come up to me and ask “how” do I get rid of this or that or feel better (or get more sleep, or be less depressed, etc. etc.), my first question to them is “why” do you want to feel better? Contemplating the “why” is the first, deepest and most potent step to healthy and usually difficult behavioral change. However, once the “why” is clarified and solidified, the “how” becomes much, much easier.